IMD issues yellow alert for Delhi; heavy rains likely
July 10, 2023 20:27
![image](https://im.rediff.com/news/2023/jul/09delhi-rains.jpg)
The India meteorological department on Monday issued a 'yellow alert' for the national capital while the Yamuna River in Delhi, which was flowing above warning level for hours, crossed the danger mark of 205.33 metres at 5 pm on Monday, the latest data from the flood control department said.
Moreover, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the government is on alert mode and that is fully prepared to control the situation after the administration issued a flood alert following the release of a significant amount of water, totaling over one lakh cusecs, into the Yamuna River from the Hathnikund barrage by Haryana.
Additionally, at 1 pm on Monday, 1,90,837 cusecs of water was released from the same barrage.
Roads in several parts of the capital were submerged in knee-deep water as it was inundated with 153 millimetre of rain, the highest precipitation in a single day in July in 40 years.
IMD further stated that Delhi witnessed 16 cm of rainfall over the national capital after 41 years.
IMD Senior Scientist Dr Soma Sen Roy said, "There is a yellow alert for Delhi today and if necessary we will upgrade the alert level as well as the rainfall warning based on the main region of interaction.
On warning, Roy said, "For Delhi, we are issuing alerts at subdivision level or state level. From our meteorological centres, district-level warnings are being issued for the districts which are likely to be affected by flash floods, landslides, heavy rain and thunderstorm."
Speaking about if it's common to witness such heavy rainfall that Delhi has been experiencing during monsoon, Roy said, "Such rainfall may not have happened in Delhi, but it has happened in the past. It is not a very uncommon feature of monsoon whether easterly system or westerly system interact. Only this time it has happened after 41 years over Delhi. So, we are seeing this kind of intense spell over Delhi. If you remember, in 2013, the Uttarakhand episode, there was a low pressure system which moved from the Bay of Bengal and there was much deeper moisture coming in and that also interacted with westerly trough." -- ANI